No one player could replace Nene, but the Wizards did it by committee on Sunday as they became the first team to win a game on their home floor in this series with a 98-89 victory against the Chicago Bulls to take a 3-1 lead.
Trevor Ariza set a personal playoff and franchise high with six made three-pointers for a team-high 30 points, Bradley Beal had 18, Marcin Gortat 17 and John Wall 15. Trevor Booker, who replaced Nene in the starting lineup while he served a one-game suspension for a scuffle in Game 3, led with nine rebounds, Ariza had eight rebounds and Gortat six. Beal and Wall combined for eight rebounds.
Wall had 10 assists and just two turnovers. In the last two games, he has had only three. Gortat had five assists.
Taj Gibson was the primary offense for Chicago with a game-high 32 points on 13-for-16 shooting. Joakim Noah had 16 points and Jimmy Butler 10.
In the waning minutes, a soldout crowd of 20,356 showered the arena with "Free Nene" chants.